"Chihayafuru -Meguri-" Episode 1 Synopsis

Actor Ami Touma will star in the drama series "Chihayafuru: Meguri" (NTV, Wednesdays at 10pm) which will begin on July Getsuku. The drama is an original story that depicts the world 10 years after the trilogy of films "Kami no Ku" and "Shimo no Ku" in 2016 and "Musubi" in 2018. This will be Touma's first lead role in a drama series, and she will play Aizawa Meguru, a second-year high school student and ghost member of the Umezono High School Competitive Karuta Club.

"Chihayafuru" is a manga by Yuki Suetsugu that was serialized in "BE・LOVE" (Kodansha) from 2007 to 2022. The story is about Ayase Chihaya, who awakens to the charm of competitive karuta through her encounter with transfer student Wataya Arata, and becomes passionate about karuta with her childhood friend Mashima Taichi and the other unique members of the karuta club.

In the drama, Mone Kamishiraishi , a graduate of Mizusawa High School's competitive karuta club who becomes a part-time classical Japanese teacher at Umezono High School and the club's new advisor. Nanoka Hara Hara plays Tsukiura Nagi, a member of the Mizusawa High School competitive karuta club who has become a strong team thanks to the efforts of Chihaya ( Suzu Hirose ) and Kanade.

The cast includes Daisuke Fujiwara as Orie Kenshin, a member of the competitive karuta club at Mizusawa High School, Jun Saito as Fuki Shirano, a member of the competitive karuta club at Umezono High School who grows up with Meguru, Soma Santoki as Sota Yono, Rina Arashi as Chieri Murata, Yoshihito Takamura as Haruma Okuyama, and Aito Sakamoto as Chikara Yakumo. Riku Onishi, a member of the competitive karuta club at Hokuo Academy who stands in Meguru's way, Yuki Uchida as Touko, and Jun Kaname as Susumu, Meguru's father.

Hirose, Nomura Shuhei, Yamoto Yuma, Morinaga Yuki, Hayato Sano, and Yuki Mio, who played members of the Mizusawa High School Competitive Karuta Club in the film series, will also appear in the film.

In the first episode, Meguru, a second-year student at Umezono High School and a ghost member of the competitive karuta club, focuses on typing in everything he does. After school, he works a part-time job, goes to a cram school, and in his spare time, he invests money using a smartphone app. He is a member of the karuta club because it is advantageous for his school report card if he joins a club, but he has never participated in a club activity and is completely confused by the rules of competitive karuta.

Meguru is called in to make up the numbers for the third-year students' retirement match, and is shocked to see the seniors in tears after losing in the first round. Meguru has never given herself to anything to the point of crying, and it is completely unthinkable that she would cry after accomplishing something. Meguru feels that "youth doesn't suit me," and decides to quit the club.

With the retirement of the third-year students, the karuta club is now on the verge of being disbanded, with only second-year students Yono Sota and Meguru remaining. Kanade tries to persuade Meguru to stay, insisting that it is important to have experiences that can only be had now, just like when she once won the national championship in competitive karuta, but Meguru calls Kanade's way of thinking "the classical Japanese of the Heisei era."

At a bar, Kanade is rambling on about her high school classmate, Komano Tsutomu (Morinaga), saying, "I wonder what Chihaya would do..." Kanade hadn't been able to tell Chihaya, who spent their youth together and continues to achieve their dreams, that she had become the advisor for the Karuta Club. Meanwhile, the Karuta Club is holding a competitive karuta demonstration at the school festival to recruit new members. At Kanade's request, Meguru has no choice but to participate, and there she meets an unexpected person...